Ciiaeles w



(No Model.)

c. W. ISBBLL.

HOT GAS SGRUBBER.

. Patented Nov. 18,1881.

N PETERS PhnmLmmgmphen washington. D. C,

UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE. l.

vCHARLES W. ISBELL,

OF vNEW YORK, N. Y.

VHOT-GAS SCRUBBER.

L`SPEC)ILFIIICA'II0N forming part `of Letters Patent No. 249,528, dated November 15, 1881. Application filedMarch 13, 1880. (No model.) v l To allwhomit may` concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLEs W. IsBhLL, of the city, county, and State of NewYork,

ihave invented certain Improvements iuHot- Gras `Scrubbers, of which the following is a specification.

`My invention relates to allot scrubber in `-which the gas obtained from coalorother ma- 't'erial 4by-destruetive distillation in ordinary 'orsuitable retorts is not only freed from anyV .ber is described in my Letters Patent No.

214,042, dated April 8, 1879, and in my Letters PatentNo. 221,565, dated November `11, l187 9.

Theinvention consists in the combination, in a hot scrubber provided with an inlet-pipe lforges at or near the bottom and an. outletpipefor gas at or near the top, of'l a tar-pipe `fo'rfthe introduction of tar, perforated plates arranged one above another and both above and `below said tar-pipe, and a steam-pipe for `heating the tar which collects atthe bottom of the scrubber, whereby provision is afforded for passing the gas first through perforated plates lincontact with tar, and afterward through the perforated `plates which are free from tar. The heated gas, in passing through the perforated plates below the tar-pipe, vaporizes the volatile hydrocarbon in the tar, and such vaporized hydrocarbon, in passing through the perforated plates above the tar-pipeand by the heat of the gas, is converted into apermanent gas `'Figure l in the drawingsexhibits an elevation, partly insection, of a bench ot' gas-retorts 'Y and their hydraulic main and a vertical sec- "tionof a scrubber constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section ofthe scrubber. Fig. 3 is a perspective view Fig.

A is the retort-bench. `B is'the hydraulic mai-n. G is the pipe by which the gas passes from tbehydrauli'c main to the scrubber, which consists, mai`nly,^of atower, D, ofcircul'ar or other form, of any height,ol` cast or wrought iron, containing a series lof perforated horizontal plates, E F, which inaybeof cast-iron.

The tower D may be built up in sectionswith `joints, as shown at ravin Fig. l., to any desired height, and it may be here remarked that in practice it would bemuch higher in proportion to its diameter than is representedinFig. 1, and with a much greatcrlnumber of plates E F, thenumber of whiclrrepresentedfi-s, however, suflicient-for the purpose-of illustration. The plates E F` are closelylitted tothetower D, around theinterior thereof, and are so constructed with numerous perforations as to present their perforations Iat and-near the center andat and near their 4circumference or edges alternatelythat is to say, plates E E, having the perforation-s at and near the center, but imperfora'ted Vnear their circumference, alternate with `or have interposed between them platesF F, which are imperforate at and near the center, but have perforations iu their OuterV portions and `neartheir circumference. i For l'convenience ofinsertion and removal these plates are composed of sections of sectorshape, as shown inFigs. 2, 3, and 4,with1feet` b b,\by which they may be supported one upon another, with proper spaces between them, the said plates, or cert-ain vof them, at suitableintervals, bein gsupported by spider-likeframes cc, which resty on ilan ges d d inside of the tower. constructionof` the plates in sections provides for their easy insertion, removal, and replacement through suitable man-holes, e e,\in the `sides oi `the tower. A center post, f, may also be "providedat the bottom of the tower to form a central support forthe several plates.

The pipe() communicates with the scrubber below the plates E F, and the outlet Gfor the gas is nearthe top thereof, above the said plates. l

Close toor near the bottom of the scrubber, below the plates E F,is a steam -pipe,`g, arranged in coilor other suitable form to present a large surface, and receiving steam from a suitable boiler, for the purpose of heating the IOO tar and other liquid matters collected at the bottom of the scrubber.

. for the conveyance therefrom into the scrubber of a quantity of tar and ammoniacal liquor, which is intended to be vaporized in the scrubber for the purpose of enriching the gas passing through the latter.

The operation of the-scrubber is as follows: The hot gas introduced by the pipe C circu; lates upward within the scrubber, passing through the perforations of the several plates E F, and, by reason of the arrangement of the said perforations near the centers and n ear the circumferences of the said plates alternately, being caused to pass over almost. the entire surface of each of said plates, so that it may deposit'thereon any such tarry matter as may have come over with it from the hydraulic ni'ain, and as may be condensable in the scrubber. At the same time the tar which is delivered to the scrubber by the pipe h is distributed over the several plates, E F, below the said pipe and caused to run downward through the perforations therein, sothat it is exposed in a very diffused state on the surfaces of the said plates and in the perforations thereof to the hot gas which is passing upward through and between said plates,.and the heat of .which causes it to vaporize and take up a quantity of the benzoline and other light hydrocarbonsk from the tar. The tar and ammoniacal liquor which escapes downward through the plates to the bottom of the scrubber, and which collects therein to a certain depth, is heated by the steam pipe g to such a degree that some of the lighter hydrocarbons contained in it will be vaporized,

and some of the water ofthe ammoniacal liquor will be converted into steam, and the steam and vapor thus eliminated will pass upward with the gas through the plates E F of the scrubber, which' become highly heated. The hot gas, the steam, and the light vapors from the tar will all circulate together through and over the heated plates in the part of the scrubber above the pipe h, and lnuch of the steam will be condensed and the vapor will be taken up and incorporated into the permanent gas by absorption into or combination with the gas from the retorts, while the inconvertible portion of the tar descends to andvis collected at the bottom of the scrubber, whence it escapes by a waste-outlet, n.

The use of such a scrubber enables the distillation of coal in retorts to be profitably continued beyond the point at which in ordinary gas apparatus it ceases to be profitable, or until the gas which comes over consists mainly of hydrogen, which is not light-giving, but serves as a vehicle or diluent for the volatile hydrocarbons which are evolved in thescrubber and taken up by such gas.

The sealing device by which the escape of gas at the waste-outlet n of the scrubber is prevented is shown in Fig. l, butis better shown on a larger scale in Fig. 5. It consists of a box, H, in which is a sea-t, l, of upright cylindrical or other tubular form, containing a hollow gate-valve, j, of corresponding form, which is worked by a screw, 7c, passing through a stufng-box in the iop of the box H. This gate has openings s s in the head or top, and is also open at the bottom. At one side of the seat lthere is within the said box H an open space, m, at the bottom of which there is communication with the waste-outlet of the scrubber, and which is close to the bottom of the latter. At the bottom ofthe space m there is a partition containing the scat for a valve, p, which is worked by a screw passing through a stuffing-box at the top of the-box H, and below this partition is a passage, g, communicating with the bottom of the' gate-seat l ot' the gatej, and with lan outlet, i, to which may be connected a waste-pipe.

When the scrubber is in operation the valve p is closed, and the gate j is adjusted by the screw 7c, so that the top of the said gate isjust at the level to which it is desired to keep the tar and other liquid which keeps accumulating in the bottom of the scrubber. The tar passing through a then rises into the space m up to a level with the tcp of the valve, forming a seal in the said space to prevent the escape of gas, and overows through the openings s s in the top of the gate to the outletpipe. The valve p is only opened when necessary from time' to time to draw off the matter' from the bottom of the scrubber when it becomes so thick that it will not flow freely enough through the seal and over the gate j..

The opening of the valve p allows the thick matter t0 run downward from the opening n to the passage q, and thence directly to the pipe t'.

A sealing device similar to that above described is represented applied at the connection of the tar-pipe l1. with the hydraulic main', its object being to regulate the level of the liquid in the hydraulic main and its outflow therefrom through the said pipe, and at the same time preventthe escape of gas.

The sealing device which I employ forms no part of the present invention, but may be made the subject of another application for Letters Patent.

I claim- The combination, in a hot scrubber provided with an inlet-pipe for gus at or near its bottom and an outlet-pipe for. gas at or near its top, of a tar-pipe for theintroduction of tar into lthe scrubber, perforated plates arranged one `are'free from tar, substantially as specified.

GHAS. lV. ISB-ELL.

Witnesses FREDK. HAYNi-Js, T. J. KEANE.

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